Advanced Placement

1. Advanced Placement Information for Parents and Students

2. Advanced Placement (AP) Facts: • AP courses are comparable to college level courses. • The AP Exam is a mandatory part of the course and paid for by Berwick Area School District. • Earn college credit or placement. More info at www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy • Scored on a 5 point scale • 5=extremely well qualified (traditional A) • 4=well qualified (traditional A-, B+, B) • 3=qualified (traditional B-, C+, C) • 2=possibly qualified • 1=no recommendation

3. AP Facts Cont… • AP Score reports are sent to colleges upon request. Scores of a 3 or better are automatically placed on student transcripts. • AP courses look EXCELLENT on your high school transcript. • Each course is weighted at 1.08; the highest weight at BHS! • If you do not take the exam, your AP course will not be weighted. This is per the AP contract that both student and parent sign. • For general information about AP courses and Exams visit www.collegeboard.com/apstudents

4. Biology • Prerequisites: Biology I, Chemistry I • Content: • Less time is spent on factual recall and more time is spent on inquiry-based learning of essential concepts. • 4 “Big Ideas” are covered. • The process of evolution drives the diversity and unity of life • Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. • Living systems store, retrieve, transmit, and respond to information essential to life processes. • Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex properties

5. Calculus AB ( aka: Calc 1) • Prerequisites: Advanced Math • Content: Calculus is where math actually begins…answering the question “where am I going to use this?” • Example: • Algebra 1: Students learn: about slope relating to velocity. • Calculus: Students learn: How long it takes to get to the center of the tootsie pop. • Hands on projects. i.e. How does a car odometer works? • Physics based. • Medical field-how long medicine takes to get through the system or how fast a virus spreads is calc based.

6. Calculus BC (aka: Calc 2) • Prerequisite: Calculus AB • Content: • Applying material from Calculus AB to solve problems • Using the Ext. Value Thm. to support an essay justifying decision-making in business or engineering contexts • Using integration to compute volumes, lengths of curves, and surface areas. • Connecting Calculus and Physics • Particle motion along a line – velocity/derivative, acceleration/2nd derivative • Particle motion in 2-dimensions – parametric equations and polar coordinates

7. Chemistry • Prerequisite: Chemistry I and Algebra II • Content: • The AP Chemistry Course is organized around six big ideas in chemistry, which serve to focus and structure the course. It also includes a set of learning objectives that describe the content knowledge and thinking skills that students should demonstrate to succeed on the AP Exam. • Chemical elements, Chemical and physical properties, Changes in matter, Chemical reactions, Laws of thermodynamics , Any bond or intermolecular attraction that can be formed can be broken. • A complete description can be found at: http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/science/chemistry

8. Computer Science (Java) • Prerequisite:Computer Programming I • Content: • Emphasizes object oriented programming methodology. • Concentration on problem solving and algorithm development: • Includes the study of data structures, design, and abstraction • Ultimately you will learn how to create and app for the ANDROID MARKET!

9. English Language and Composition Sophomore or Junior Year Course • Content: • This course offers a creative and challenging approach to studying reading, writing, and the power of language. • Students gain extensive practice with rhetorical analysis (study of persuasion), argumentation, and synthesis. • Rhetorical analysis is an empowering tool for high school students because they can apply it to a variety of academic and non-academic topics and situations. • Summer reading is required. • 2013-2014 school year is the first year that this course was opened up to sophomores. It has been VERY successful.

10. English Literature and Composition • Senior Year Course • Content: • Students gain intensive writing skills as a response to the extensive reading of all literary genres from a variety of time periods. • There is a heavy focus is on literary analysis • Students learn to demonstrate critical and analytical thought. • Students participate in frequent discussions to refine the writing process. • The primary texts are imaginative. • Summer reading is required.

11. Physics 1 (New) • Prerequisite:Algebra 2, Advanced Math (concurrent) • Content: • A conceptual algebra based Physics course intended to match a college physics 1 course for non-science based majors. • Topics discussed are Newton’s Laws of Motion, Kinematics, Energy, Momentum, Rotation, Gravitation, Waves, Electrostatics and Simple Circuits. • This course is the same as the non-AP physics 1 except all curriculum will be finished by May instead of June. • Intended for all college bound students.

12. Physics C: Mechanics • Prerequisite: Advanced Math, Physics I • Content: • Lab oriented program designed to supplement content covered in physics 1. • Topics discussed are Newton’s Laws of Motion, Kinematics, Statics, Energy, Momentum, Rotation, Gravitation, and Waves. • Astrophysics and Cosmology covered after AP exam. • For students planning to major in math, physics, engineering, or medicine.

13. Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism • Prerequisite: Advanced Math, Physics I, & (Calc 1 OR Mechanics) • Content: • Lab oriented program designed to teach students content found in a college level Physics 2 course. • Topics discussed are Electrostatics, Electric Potential, Gauss’s Law, Resistors, Current, Capacitors, DC Circuits, Electric and Magnetic Fields, and Electromagnetic Induction. • For students planning to major in math, physics, engineering, or medicine.

14. Spanish Language and Culture 2013-2014 is the first year for this course and exam. It was previously entitled ‘Spanish Language’. Prerequisite:Spanish 4 Content: • Students will communicate with new words and words previously learned in Spanish 1-4. • Comparisons between US and Hispanic cultures will be learned. • Students will learn how to use Spanish in class and in real-life settings. • Students will develop the following communication skills: Reading Comprehension, Audio/Visual Comprehension, Writing an e-mail, Essay Writing, Conversational Speaking and Presentational Speaking.

15. Statistics Content: • This is a non-calculus based introductory statistics course. • Concepts and tools for collecting, analyzing, and drawing conclusions from data are explored. • Students are exposed to: exploring data, sampling and experiments such as planning research, producing models using probability and simulation, and using statistical inference by testing hypotheses. • A focus for this course is interpreting and communicating data results. • This course is equivalent to one semester of a college statistics course. A calculator with statistical capabilities (TI-84 or TI-89 or equivalent) is required.

16. US Government and Politics Content: • Students will learn, analyze and apply facts, concepts and theories of U. S. government from 1620 to the present. • Students will understand typical patterns of political structures, processes and behaviors in the U.S. • Students will analyze & interpret data, primary source readings, and current events related to U.S. government • History & Foundations of U.S. government; Political Beliefs & Behaviors; Political Parties, Interest Groups, & the Media; Civil Liberties & Civil Rights; Congress, Presidency, Bureaucracy & Federal Courts; Public Policy • Visit the AP Government & Politics wiki site at: www.berwickGOPO.wikispaces.com

17. US History Content: • 1491-Present • The AP U.S. History course emphasizes the development of thinking skills used by historians and is aligned with contemporary scholarly perspectives on major issues in U.S. history. • This course is designed to encourage students to become apprentice historians who are able to use historical facts and evidence in the service of creating deeper conceptual understandings of critical developments in U.S. history.

18. World History (NEW) • Students will explore key themes of world history including environmental, cultural, state-building, economic systems, and social structures. • Technological and EnvironmentalTransformations (to c. 600 BCE) • Organization and Reorganization of Human Societies (c. 600 BCE to c. 600 CE) • Regional andTransregional Interactions (c. 600 CE to c. 1450) • Global Interactions (c. 1450 to c. 1750) • Industrialization and Global Integration (c. 1750 to c. 1900) • Accelerating Global Change and Realignments (c. 1900 to the Present) • Students will learn to apply the following historical thinking skills: • ability to craft arguments from evidence • describe, analyze and evaluate events from a chronological perspective • compare and contextualize historical developments • analyze evidence, reasoning and context to construct and understand historical interpretations

20. Questions? April Zluchowski AP Coordinator 759-6400 ext. 3106 azluchowski@berwicksd.org